Registered User

Registered User

I just wanted to pass on my experience of nursing home funding. My grandmother,sadly no longer with us, had alzheimers for about 12 years and my mother and I managed between us, to care for her at her home for as long as we could. In the end after she had refused any food and drink for about 5 days and physically lashed out if we tried to attend to her personal hygiene, we called the doctor out as she was becoming very frail. The doctor involved immediately phoned a social worker, a Community Psychiatric Nurse and a Doctor from the local Mental Health Unit. They all attended later that day and sectioned my grandmother under the Mental Health Act. It is very painful to think about that day as the doctors wanted to call an ambulance to take my grandmother to hospital, then they mentioned the police as she was quite violent and likely to put up a fight (not bad for a 6 stone, 5 foot lady!!). I refused all this, she was no criminal. She was a frightened old lady who hadn't left the house for 3 years (although she told us she went to town for lunch with her friend every day!). I part coaxed and part frog marched her into my car and drove her to the hospital. That was the saddest thing to do. I felt I was so cruel as we knew she would never return to these old familiar surroundings and she was leaving with only the clothes she had on.
Anyway, waffling now - whilst in hospital my grandmother fell and broke her hip and was placed in a local EMI nursing home. I do not remember the full details but as she was on some kind of mental health section all her nursing home fees were paid in full by the local authority.

Registered User

I've filled this in to say that my Mum pays completely for her own care. However, she is in a nursing rather than a care home and does get the registered nursing care contribution. However, I don't really count that because the nursing home is more expensive than her previous care home so the RNCC only helps to make up the difference.

Just to muddy the waters even further, her property has not been sold so the council is paying for her care on a deferred payment scheme - ie when her property is sold they will be paid back.

Volunteer Moderator

No you are not Craig. Here`s another one. All my mother`s money was used to fund her care except for £10,000 we were allowed to keep. I haven`t posted on the poll because she died in 2002 so I don`t feel it applies.

Registered User

I've put John as not funded at all, though as we're in Scotland we get the standard free personal care allowance. No attendance allowance or nursing contribution though. I guess it more or less balances out.

Registered User

I have put not funded. All Moms fees are paid for by her except for her attendance allowance and nursing allowance. She got the nursing home allowance quickly, but am still waitng for the higher attendance to go through as they lost the POA I sent with the new claim. The home is excellent but expensive and have just put their fees up,due to heating costs and extra pay to staff for statutary holidays. I have to go back to the uk to sell her home to invest the money to help pay for the home. Sooty

Registered User

On another point however my Dad was sectioned with dementia. I went over to the Uk and he had got worse. The doctor came then a social worker and a psychiatrist to our home and at 1.00aM in the morning the social worker took him to hospital. He went from home to home never using his own money for funding and was in the Court of Protection. They auctioned off his house, but not for fees for when her died I was very surprised to find I had been left some money. I think because he became ill when he was only in his late fifties and until he was 65 was in a mental hospital with his dementia perhaps thats why he never paid. My parents were separated and divorced durng this time and when the house was sold my mother still got half, though her name was not on the deedds and she had not lived there for 10 years or so.

Registered User

My Mum had to pay all her own Nursing Home fees, because she owned her own house and had savings. Fortunately, she received the higher rate of attendance allowance, Registered Nursing Care contribution and the full State Pension, which contributed nearly a third of her weekly fees.

She had also worked most of her life and had her own private pensions, which together with the rental income on her house, also helped to pay the NH charges, so we only had to take a relatively small amount from her savings each month.

Mum died in May, but I did worry about what would happen if she had lived for a long time in the NH and her money ran out.

Registered User

Mary-Ann - it might quite possibly make a difference. If he stays on section for enough time then subsequent "after-care" needs to be provided, which in this case means that the home fees would have to be paid by the NHS. There is a time frame though. The Mind site (mind.org.uk) has the most info about this.

I did fill in the survey even though my mother has now died - I was a "pay everything and get AA and nursing care allowance".

Registered User

Just to clarify about this poll - it is actually quite an old one - from 2 years ago - that a member has happened upon and re-awoken.

Nothing wrong with that, but if there is any benefit in re-visiting the subject and adding more options in the light of what we have learned since 2005, then let me know and we can update the categories and start a new poll.